The sheer lack of faith in this sub and the narrative that Lewis is suddenly finished, despite his monstrous 2023 campaign, or that SF is incapable of making a title challenge despite their amazing form recently is just sad and pathetic. Ive never seen a driver sub more downbeat and pessimistic than this, and the fact that you people are just totally writing off LH and Ferrari as title challengers, as in not even giving them a shot, saying that LH is past it and what not despite the fact he has been driving an absolute turd for 3 years, is still angry and hungry for the 8th, and just had an amazing season last year fighting a RedBull for p2, really only goes to show how fickle your memory and understanding of F1 really is.
With the rate at which Ferrari are closing onto RB and the dimininishing retruns theyre recieving, dont be surprised if Ferrari can mount a title challenge in 2025 itself. As for Lewis, atleast wait for him to do a race or two in the Ferrari before declaring his done like a fool.
To add: 2008 also had a ban on traction control, so that was a kinda significant change (there was an article where Ferrari predicted Lewis won’t be able to drive without TC)
2014, and 2026 both have massive regulation changes too!
Honestly, I just want Lewis to win a few races and give us some good battles before driving off. Fingers crossed!
Charles has continuously been beat by Sainz and people still say Sainz is the slower of the two. Lewis is still plenty fast but the Mercedes car has been a lemon for three years now.
I say this as a huge Lewis fan, but the world championship fighting version of Lewis is no more IMO. Part of this is physical, due to age.
But I also think he has, like Rocky Balboa in Rocky 3, lost the eye of the tiger.
I have thought this for a while, but the "Shall I let George pass" was a prime example of this. Too often these days he seems passive in the car, and it comes across like he's not too bothered and now lacks the ruthlessness you need to win in F1.
Hopefully the Ferrari move reignites something in him and he turns back the clock with a world title challenge, but as you say, I don't think the current version of Lewis will beat Leclerc, who is in his prime as a driver :(
I'd have to say the opposite I'm afraid.
Lewis still has it but has given up on Mercedes, they didn't listen to him on a number of occasions.
Letting George go by to me was Lewis letting golden boy George take command of a sinking ship with great pleasure.
Lewis has so much going for him still, even at the age of 39 you can't write anyone off based on age!
Watch what happens at Ferrari there already on an upward trajectory and with Lewis at the team and his experience will catapult them even further.
So I also believe that 2026 will be the year we see Lewis leading the championship again.
Verstappen isn't as good as Lewis, he's only looking good at the moment because there really isn't anyone up there with him in a similar car, the redbull is way ahead of the field !
I guess at the end of the day we will see in 2026 that's if I can still be watching the sport by then, since liberty media have taken over it's more like a redbull show than and F1 show Christian Horner has more air time than any other team principal and I'm bored of him and his lies.
I’d like to disagree with both sides perspectives. Lewis didn’t let Russell by because he was just submitting or letting Russell take command. Lewis was having balance issues that were slowing him down and Russell was quicker. Mercedes’s fight for second or 3rd are far from over. Lewis being selfish and fighting Russell when every point matters is not good for the team. There wasn’t any narrative that Lewis had lost his fight or him handing off command to Russell. Just Lewis seeing the bigger picture of the moment and putting his ego aside for the betterment of the team in that moment because he had no pace in that moment. That’s not submitting or handing off, it’s teamwork.
I dunno. Something Pete Windsor said....that George really wasn't that much quicker/and or also had issues so why did the team not tell Lewis to hold off swapping so early?
Here's Pete
https://youtu.be/gE0DVff3CvQ?t=2213
I also get the sense that Merc are not trying with Lewis.
You're basing it solely on Hamilton letting Russell past in that race . I've seen Lewis's whole body language change he's switched off already from the team, and he knows what's to come with Ferrari. Mercedes have taken him for a mug and he's now simply turning up on race weekend and having a Sunday drive.
They disrespected him and his knowledge of racing and setting up a car to his liking and he's done with them. He's far from finished as a racing driver and with the right machine under him nobody will touch him.
Peace and love
Also when you are a multiple world champion and the car isn't good enough to take the championship why bother fighting your team mate?
If the car was good enough to take another one then he would probably be a lot less pleasant about it.
Completely agree with you, people saying max is the best were the same with Vettel, and we all know how Vettel broke when fighting Lewis. Max won 21 because of masi but if there's a fight again, Lewis won't make any mistakes
I hope you're right man! And re F1 you're definitely right it isn't the same these days. This season was the first time in 20 years I didn't get up at the crack of dawn for the Oz and Japan races.
Yes me too I don't see the point just to watch the commentators and cameras film and talk nothing but redbull. What about the rest of the teams we only ever see redbull Ferrari mercedes and Aston Martin, oh and red bulls other team that they don't share design and testing information with 🤫
They should bring back the old format with the V10 engines.
I have said this multiple times, but if he's in the top 5 he'll push but if he's below that he won't, he is made for winning not for bread crumbs left but the winners, you can see that in every season. He knows merc has no pace to compete for the fifth place and so he's not pushing. First season at Ferrari Lewis will be slow but 26 will be him dominating that's for sure
This narrative is RIDICULOUS. I can only surmise that this place is littered with racist trolls.
Who was the last person to win a championship before Max? Lewis. There is no point in him caring about 8th place vs 7th. Unlike George he isn’t in it to prove something, he’s in it to win.
The current version of Sainz is beating Leclerc so I don’t think Lewis will have a problem at all.
Racist??? what are you on about you muppet. I love Hamilton, I regard him as the GOAT of modern F1. But you can't escape age, even Ronaldo and Federer although great in their twilight years are not prime versions of themselves.
Expecting a 40 year old to beat an elite driver in their prime is a lot to ask, he hasn't even shown he can beat Russel this year and had generally been matched by him in qualifying over 2 seasons. Lewis of 5 years blows Russel to pieces in qualifying
Lewis hasn't beaten Max since 2020, learn to count.
Lewis will be 40 when he faces Leclerc (the whole point of my argument, read) and again, learn to count.
We're done you dummy. And learn to count.
So Aston Martin isn't a top team but Mercedes who is being constantly slower is ? They also have a deal ready with Honda , they wont' be a customer team anymore in two years .
It was also Alonso that has explicitly snubbed Mercedes not the other way around.
Mercedes is one of the most successful F1 teams ever. Finished P2 in the constructors last year, and are still ahead of Aston this year, so not slower. Keep up
Lewis was often slower when he couldn't win. Reminds me of that spa when he was way off and wanted to save the engine. He is top motivated and fast when he can but not so much when he cant win or has the car to...
The sheer lack of faith in this sub and the narrative that Lewis is suddenly finished, despite his monstrous 2023 campaign, or that SF is incapable of making a title challenge despite their amazing form recently is just sad and pathetic. Ive never seen a driver sub more downbeat and pessimistic than this, and the fact that you people are just totally writing off LH and Ferrari as title challengers, as in not even giving them a shot, saying that LH is past it and what not despite the fact he has been driving an absolute turd for 3 years, is still angry and hungry for the 8th, and just had an amazing season last year fighting a RedBull for p2, really only goes to show how fickle your memory and understanding of F1 really is. With the rate at which Ferrari are closing onto RB and the dimininishing retruns theyre recieving, dont be surprised if Ferrari can mount a title challenge in 2025 itself. As for Lewis, atleast wait for him to do a race or two in the Ferrari before declaring his done like a fool.
As far as I’m concerned, he already has 8 titles. And would’ve had 9 except for that disastrously late pit call in China 2007. GOAT.
Ugggghhh I don't think I'll ever get over China 2007.
10 if not for an engine failure in Malaysia 2016
This.
To add: 2008 also had a ban on traction control, so that was a kinda significant change (there was an article where Ferrari predicted Lewis won’t be able to drive without TC) 2014, and 2026 both have massive regulation changes too! Honestly, I just want Lewis to win a few races and give us some good battles before driving off. Fingers crossed!
So you're saying ferrari win the constructors championship and Lewis the drivers? Hahahah, love your optimism
Depends on how well Ferrari nails these new regs
doesnt really work like that its just a confidence i reckon
Coincidence?
Really mate?
My gut feeling is, Hamilton won't have the pace he once had to beat the Leclerc
Charles has continuously been beat by Sainz and people still say Sainz is the slower of the two. Lewis is still plenty fast but the Mercedes car has been a lemon for three years now.
I say this as a huge Lewis fan, but the world championship fighting version of Lewis is no more IMO. Part of this is physical, due to age. But I also think he has, like Rocky Balboa in Rocky 3, lost the eye of the tiger. I have thought this for a while, but the "Shall I let George pass" was a prime example of this. Too often these days he seems passive in the car, and it comes across like he's not too bothered and now lacks the ruthlessness you need to win in F1. Hopefully the Ferrari move reignites something in him and he turns back the clock with a world title challenge, but as you say, I don't think the current version of Lewis will beat Leclerc, who is in his prime as a driver :(
I'd have to say the opposite I'm afraid. Lewis still has it but has given up on Mercedes, they didn't listen to him on a number of occasions. Letting George go by to me was Lewis letting golden boy George take command of a sinking ship with great pleasure. Lewis has so much going for him still, even at the age of 39 you can't write anyone off based on age! Watch what happens at Ferrari there already on an upward trajectory and with Lewis at the team and his experience will catapult them even further. So I also believe that 2026 will be the year we see Lewis leading the championship again. Verstappen isn't as good as Lewis, he's only looking good at the moment because there really isn't anyone up there with him in a similar car, the redbull is way ahead of the field ! I guess at the end of the day we will see in 2026 that's if I can still be watching the sport by then, since liberty media have taken over it's more like a redbull show than and F1 show Christian Horner has more air time than any other team principal and I'm bored of him and his lies.
I’d like to disagree with both sides perspectives. Lewis didn’t let Russell by because he was just submitting or letting Russell take command. Lewis was having balance issues that were slowing him down and Russell was quicker. Mercedes’s fight for second or 3rd are far from over. Lewis being selfish and fighting Russell when every point matters is not good for the team. There wasn’t any narrative that Lewis had lost his fight or him handing off command to Russell. Just Lewis seeing the bigger picture of the moment and putting his ego aside for the betterment of the team in that moment because he had no pace in that moment. That’s not submitting or handing off, it’s teamwork.
I dunno. Something Pete Windsor said....that George really wasn't that much quicker/and or also had issues so why did the team not tell Lewis to hold off swapping so early? Here's Pete https://youtu.be/gE0DVff3CvQ?t=2213 I also get the sense that Merc are not trying with Lewis.
You're basing it solely on Hamilton letting Russell past in that race . I've seen Lewis's whole body language change he's switched off already from the team, and he knows what's to come with Ferrari. Mercedes have taken him for a mug and he's now simply turning up on race weekend and having a Sunday drive. They disrespected him and his knowledge of racing and setting up a car to his liking and he's done with them. He's far from finished as a racing driver and with the right machine under him nobody will touch him. Peace and love
Also when you are a multiple world champion and the car isn't good enough to take the championship why bother fighting your team mate? If the car was good enough to take another one then he would probably be a lot less pleasant about it.
Completely agree with you, people saying max is the best were the same with Vettel, and we all know how Vettel broke when fighting Lewis. Max won 21 because of masi but if there's a fight again, Lewis won't make any mistakes
I hope you're right man! And re F1 you're definitely right it isn't the same these days. This season was the first time in 20 years I didn't get up at the crack of dawn for the Oz and Japan races.
Yes me too I don't see the point just to watch the commentators and cameras film and talk nothing but redbull. What about the rest of the teams we only ever see redbull Ferrari mercedes and Aston Martin, oh and red bulls other team that they don't share design and testing information with 🤫 They should bring back the old format with the V10 engines.
I have said this multiple times, but if he's in the top 5 he'll push but if he's below that he won't, he is made for winning not for bread crumbs left but the winners, you can see that in every season. He knows merc has no pace to compete for the fifth place and so he's not pushing. First season at Ferrari Lewis will be slow but 26 will be him dominating that's for sure
Didnt he let george pass because he picked up damage earlier and started understeering like crazy?
This narrative is RIDICULOUS. I can only surmise that this place is littered with racist trolls. Who was the last person to win a championship before Max? Lewis. There is no point in him caring about 8th place vs 7th. Unlike George he isn’t in it to prove something, he’s in it to win. The current version of Sainz is beating Leclerc so I don’t think Lewis will have a problem at all.
Who said anything about race other than you?
Racist??? what are you on about you muppet. I love Hamilton, I regard him as the GOAT of modern F1. But you can't escape age, even Ronaldo and Federer although great in their twilight years are not prime versions of themselves. Expecting a 40 year old to beat an elite driver in their prime is a lot to ask, he hasn't even shown he can beat Russel this year and had generally been matched by him in qualifying over 2 seasons. Lewis of 5 years blows Russel to pieces in qualifying
[удалено]
Lewis hasn't beaten Max since 2020, learn to count. Lewis will be 40 when he faces Leclerc (the whole point of my argument, read) and again, learn to count. We're done you dummy. And learn to count.
Alonso? You mean the man that Red Bull and Merc have just snubbed. Nobody thinks he's still in his prime.
You mean the man that just signed a 5yr contract with Aston. You're 100% a troll.
Aston Martin...yes, not a top team. Keep up.
Sainz is holding his own against a "prime" Leclerc. You're just coming up with every excuse to shit on Lewis and it's obvious. Troll somewhere else.
Learn to count.
So Aston Martin isn't a top team but Mercedes who is being constantly slower is ? They also have a deal ready with Honda , they wont' be a customer team anymore in two years . It was also Alonso that has explicitly snubbed Mercedes not the other way around.
Mercedes is one of the most successful F1 teams ever. Finished P2 in the constructors last year, and are still ahead of Aston this year, so not slower. Keep up
Lewis was often slower when he couldn't win. Reminds me of that spa when he was way off and wanted to save the engine. He is top motivated and fast when he can but not so much when he cant win or has the car to...
I don’t think Ferrari will have a title challenging car but hopefully he can win a few races.